Why You Should Read to Children

Make Reading Books with Children a New Year's Resolution

Welcome to 1/1/11. Be the Best Nanny Newsletter recommends nannies and au pairs read more with children. This is a new year resolution that any parent and child would love for you to do.

Studies prove that the most important thing adults can do in preparing young children for success in school and reading is to read aloud with them.

Many doctors believe that a child that has never had the experience of being read to is not a fully healthy child. The American Medical Association has suggested that all doctors prescribe reading to children.

Reading aloud with children regularly is an extremely effective medium to build relationships and communicate with children.

The Some of the Many Benefits of Reading Aloud with Children:

• Children's self-esteem grows as they experience the security of having a parent or other caring person read aloud with them.

• Children are introduced to new concepts such as colors, shapes, numbers, and alphabet, in a fun, age-appropriate way.

• Children build listening skills, vocabulary, memory and language skills.

• Children develop imagination and creativity.

• Children learn positive behavior patterns and social values.

• Children learn the love of reading that helps them succeed in school.

Since it is the first day of the new year first we recommend two books for children about New Year's Resolutions. Then we recommend two books on the topic for adults.

Children's Books about New Year's Resolutions:

Squirrel's New Year's Resolution by Pat Miller

Most holiday books are centered around Halloween, Thanksgiving, or Christmas but here’s one that takes kids into the New Year. Squirrel doesn’t know what a resolution is — happily, Bear the librarian explains it quite well, both to her and to the book’s audience.

Squirrel then visits her forest friends to see what resolutions they have planned and hopes she’ll be able to think of one for herself. Skunk, Turtle, and Mole all have ideas, but they can’t seem to get started until Squirrel gives them a push. She comes away disappointed that nothing’s come to her, but when she meets her friends later at the diner, they point out that her involvement has led to a resolution “to help someone every day.”

The happy pictures and the new knowledge that a resolution is an important, attainable goal carry the day. Ages 4 to 8. Review by Ilene Cooper

Amelia's Must-Keep Resolutions for the Best Year Ever! by Marissa Moss

This book is the format of a journal or diary and is penned in a black and white composition notebook. The author, Marissa Moss, says that she loves this format that she stumbled upon because it allows her to explore the world through a child's eyes. The notebook is full of New Year ideas and ways to make resolutions that will really stick. The book is only 40 pages so it's a quick read. Ages 9 to 12.

Books for Adults About Making New Year's Resolutions:

The Art of The Fresh Start: How to Keep Your New Year's Resolutions for a lifetime by Glenna Salsbury

Most New Year's resolutions, no matter how well-intented, are doomed to fail for one often overlooked reason: they are incongruent with our dreams and values. In The Art of the Fresh Start, Glenna Salsbury provides you with the tools to uncover the values that guide you, leading you to discover what you want to achieve and how to get there through internal motivation. This includes Book One: The Foundation for Your Fresh Start and Book Two: The "How" of Maintaining Your Fresh Start.

This Year I Will...: How to Finally Change a Habit, Keep a Resolution, or Make a Dream Come True by M.J. Ryan

This book takes you through the adventure of living your dreams by first showing you how to prepare for change, then by showing you how to get into action, how to keep going and also includes twelve tips for keeping your promise to yourself about your intentions.

Ryan tackles the obstacles that keep readers from their goals and provides helpful tools and language to quell negative, self-defeating thoughts. Championing affirmation and cognitive therapy strategies, Ryan urges readers to switch from "why" thinking to "what could be possible" thinking, using "right brain" skills to achieve success: "The right brain is future oriented. It's where our aspirations, our dreams, our longings reside." Ryan's handy self-help will prove welcome for anyone seeking gentle but solid help in achieving personal change.

Stop by tomorrow for our Sunday Product Review for nannies and au pairs.

What are your favorite books to read to children?